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The St. Johns River Water Management District is one of five regional agencies in Florida that have authority to tax, issue water permits and regulate wetlands. The nine members of the St. Johns board meet monthly at headquarters in Palatka, Fla. They are appointed by the governor, a system sometimes criticized as giving too much power to non-elected officials. The district, run by about 700 employees, includes the St. Johns River basin in 18 counties from Georgia to Okeechobee County.

Related "St. Johns River Water Management District" Articles

A tough choice over Central Florida's water future is unfolding now as the giant Deseret Ranches proposes to dam a pair of creeks, an idea rejected long ago by state officials as environmentally unacceptable.
Osceola County and Deseret Ranches are...

An Orange County commissioner wants government to pay all costs of extending sewer service to 380 homes near Wekiwa Springs that rely on septic tanks blamed for polluting the region's famous environmental treasure.
Fred Brummer will pitch the deal to...

We live in an area that has a lot of wetlands that have been impacted in negative ways. Some wetlands have dried up over time, due mostly to development resulting in lowering the surface-water table. This shortage of water has caused a major decline in...

About 130 people stood in line at the entrance table inside the administration building of the St. Johns River Water Management District headquarters in Palataka on Aug. 28.They waited patiently to sign up to speak on behalf of their beloved rivers —...

Will Radcliff, who made his fortune selling Slush Puppie drinks, cherished a spread of Florida wilderness so much he sold it a decade ago for preservation but at a discount so he could hang out there until his death.
In 2004, when asked what it was...

Five things for today in Orlando and Central Florida: slush puppies and open land; parents demanding recess; mobile fashion stores; and more.
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Environmental protection in Florida went into a deep freeze after the Great Recession pummeled the state's economy and voters then elected Gov. Rick "let's get to work" Scott. Funding for conservation programs took a nose dive, and environmental...

Solve parking -- move
Trader Joe's has been open for business for five weeks, but it should move. Parking at Lakeside shopping center in Winter Park is a nightmare.
It makes sense for the ultra-popular grocery store to move up the street to the vacant...

A plan to extend sewer lines near Wekiwa Springs to homes that have septic systems would be paid for mostly with tax money but has agitated residents who fear the project would cost them thousands of dollars, tear up streets and yards — but do little to...

State environmental authorities and Orange County Utilities officials will hold a rescheduled meeting Wednesday to present details on a proposal to convert homes near Wekiwa Springs from septic tanks to sewer service.
The meeting will be held in Clay...

Gemini Springs 37 Dirksen Drive Debary, FL 32713 (386) 736-5953 The 210-acre Gemini Springs was purchased in 1994 through the combined efforts of Volusia County, the Trust for Public Lands, the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Florida...

As Orlando residents sleep in for an extra hour Sunday morning, a new kind of law enforcement will be out in city neighborhoods by the crack of dawn: water cops.
The end of daylight saving time marks the start of a four-month period when lawn...

Florida's rivers are in trouble.
That's what the Orlando Sentinel found after a yearlong evaluation of some of the state's biggest and smallest, most urban and remote, cleanest and dirtiest, protected and abused rivers.
Of the 22 rivers studied, from...

For an imaginary moment, swim with Hueland Todd Brown as he descends into a deep, caramel-colored river, feeling his way with his hands and hoping nothing bites.
Brown lives by the Choctawhatchee, a wild river that coils through remote forests in the...

As tensions in Florida rise over the control of scarce water supplies, the Brevard County city of Cocoa, a heavy user of water pumped from rural Orange County, is offering to sell the increasingly precious resource to Orange County's utility — for a...

Kirby Green, the head of the St. Johns Water Management District had a “My Word” piece this morning, urging Floridians to work on their water conservation. Maybe it's just me, but ever since the district gave the Niagara bottled-water company permi

The University of Central Florida wants to build academic and research facilities on a small piece of conservation land within the campus' 82-acre Arboretum — a move that some students and environmental groups have been lobbying against for many months.

By Kevin Spear, Orlando Sentinel On a spring morning in 1995, real-estate developer B.B. Nelson walked into a Melbourne office of the St. Johns River Water Management District with a military smoke bomb. The 65-year-old Brevard County resident was angry that a

Colleague Ludi Lelis has a sobering story on the outlook for Blue Spring, which is a popular winter refuge for endangered manatees. The spring's waters are fed by the Floridan aquifer, which is also the prime source for human water needs in west Volusia County

PALATKA — The 10-year head of the St. Johns River Water Management District announced his retirement Tuesday during the agency’s monthly board meeting, where significant reductions in staff and operations were unveiled in response to a state law passed